Load centers are commonly used to distribute power in industrial, commercial and residential applications. A typical load center includes a sheet metal enclosure with a power distribution structure mounted therein that is configured to support division of a main circuit feed into multiple branch circuits. Typically, the branch circuits are protected by respective circuit breakers that are designed to be plugged or bolted on to bus bars of the load center. The breakers may be of various types, such as thermal magnetic breakers, arc fault breakers and ground fault breakers. The breaker locations are typically arranged in a two-column array. The main feed to the bus bars may be protected by a larger main breaker.
Energy efficiency and other requirements have led to a demand for more sophisticated monitoring and control of electrical distribution systems. For example, the desire for increased energy efficiency has driven a demand for metering of loads coupled to particular load centers. Existing approaches for providing such metering capabilities include adding metering devices that are designed to be appended to the load center or to be installed in vacant spaces within the load center enclosure.